Sweet, Simple After-School Snacking

7/12/2018

With school back in full swing, the days will be full, packed with classes, homework and after-school sports, music and other extracurricular activities. To make the most of all these endeavors, it’s important to eat well with snacks like this Grape Smoothie Bowl to sustain the critical energy and focus required throughout the day.

Sweet, Simple After-School Snacking

(Family Features) With school back in full swing, the days will be full, packed with classes, homework and after-school sports, music and other extracurricular activities. To make the most of all these endeavors, it’s important to eat well to sustain the critical energy and focus required throughout the day.

Smart fueling includes keeping nourishing snacks such as heart-healthy grapes on-hand – whether at home, in the car or coming off the field. Fresh California grapes – simple, convenient and nutritious – can make for a delicious snack on their own.

Available in three appealing colors – red, green and black – crisp, juicy grapes can add a tasty touch when hunger calls for an afternoon energy boost. Grapes also pair well with crackers, cheese and nuts for other snack combos.

Yet another way to enjoy fresh grapes is to blend them with other fruits and vegetables to create smoothie bowls, a nutritious option to help ensure that a variety of healthy ingredients are part of a balanced day.

Smoothie bowls work well as a snack or even a quick breakfast, and also provide a way for parents to introduce their kids to new, healthier bites.

This Grape Smoothie Bowl is fresh, flavorful and full of sweet grape taste for a quick fix that can leave bodies fueled and ready to take on the rest of the day.

Find more information and snack ideas at GrapesfromCalifornia.com.

Grape Smoothie Bowl

Prep time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2

1/2 avocado
2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
1 cup packed baby spinach
2 cups green California grapes, divided
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 piece fresh ginger (1-inch length), peeled and sliced (optional)
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted coconut chips

In blender, combine avocado, bananas, spinach, 1 cup grapes, almond milk, ginger and salt; blend until smooth. Pour into two bowls. Halve remaining grapes and place on top of smoothie bowls along with chia seeds and coconut chips.

Nutritional information per serving: 370 calories; 5 g protein; 66 g carbohydrates; 13 g fat (32% calories from fat); 3.5 g saturated fat (9% calories from saturated fat); 200 mg sodium; 10 g fiber.

SOURCE:
California Table Grape Commission

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5 Ways to Inspire After-School Playtime

6/6/2017

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Filling the hours between the final bell of the school day and bedtime isn’t always easy, and if you’re like most parents, the search is always on for playful – and even educational – experiences you can enjoy with your kids. An important aspect of after-school activities includes snacking, and when you combine that with playtime, you can open the door to imaginative, discovery-filled experiences for the whole family.

5 Ways to Inspire After-School Playtime

(Family Features) Filling the hours between the final bell of the school day and bedtime isn’t always easy, and if you’re like most parents, the search is always on for playful – and even educational – experiences you can enjoy with your kids.

An important aspect of after-school activities includes snacking, and when you combine that with playtime, you can open the door to imaginative, discovery-filled experiences for the whole family.

Whether you’re putting together a musical instrument with items from your pantry or whipping up a homemade science experiment, a delicious snack can help spark playful moments of discovery and natural curiosity. A snack like Teddy Soft Bakes, which are bear-shaped, soft-baked treats with a hidden flavored filling that kids will love to discover, can help provide these moments of discovery at snack time. These individually wrapped treats are a snack parents can feel good about saying yes to because they are free of artificial flavors, artificial colors and high fructose corn syrup. This snack can help open the door to after-school activities like these:

Make Raisins Dance. First, take a glass and fill it with carbonated water. Collect 20-30 raisins and slowly drop them into the cup then watch as they dance to the top.
Make Power with Static. To start, blow up a balloon and tie the end closed. Stand in front of a mirror and rub the balloon on your head to watch the power of static. Wander around the house and see what the balloon sticks to.
Leaves Really Breathe. Head outdoors and collect 4-5 different types of leaves. Fill a baking dish with water and drop in the leaves. Find a few rocks to weigh the leaves down and watch what happens.
See if it Floats. Create a floating science project right in your kitchen by collecting 10-15 household items such as rubber bands, flower petals, paper clips or pencils. After you have your items, fill a large, clear bowl with water and slowly place each item in the water then guess which ones will float. Examine which items float and which do not.
Make a Balloon Sing. Collect small household items such as beans, pennies, rocks and dried pasta. Place a few of these items in a balloon then blow up the balloon without tying the end. Slowly let the air out of the balloon and listen to the noise. Repeat these steps with different items to hear different tones. To make your own musical instrument, tie the balloon closed and shake it.

For more treats and activity inspiration, visit DiscoverTeddy.com.

SOURCE:
Teddy Soft Bakes

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Tips to Fill Your Day with Active Play

10/3/2016

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As the busy school year progresses, it can be challenging for families to find time to play and stay active together. Don’t let barriers get in the way of keeping kids active during the school year. Instead, turn those barriers to play into opportunities to get active with these four tips.

Tips to Fill Your Day with Active Play

(Family Features) As the busy school year progresses, it can be challenging for families to find time to play and stay active together. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that kids participate in 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day, but unfortunately this isn’t always what they are getting.

Play is an important part of a child’s physical, emotional and social development, yet many external factors can quickly become barriers to active play including busy schedules, technology and the costs of sports equipment. A survey conducted by Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Let’s Play initiative, which is dedicated to getting kids and their families active, found that only 33 percent of children are participating in active play daily, down from 41 percent in 2015.

Don’t let barriers get in the way of keeping kids active during the school year. Instead, turn those barriers to play into opportunities to get active with the following tips.

Fill down time with play time: Children’s active play time is impacted by busy schedules – 64 percent of parents said busy schedules were a barrier to play this year, up from 56 percent in 2015. Active play doesn’t have to happen all at once; it can be spread out through the day so try fitting it in when you can, even if it’s in 10-minute increments. Waiting with your kids at a bus stop? Make it active by playing a game of Simon Says. Need 10 minutes to get ready to leave the house? Send the kids outside to play before loading up the car.

Make DIY toys: Sports equipment can be pricey to purchase and maintain. Instead of breaking the bank, try recycling objects around the house to make them into toys. You can make old socks into a hacky-sack game by filling them with beans or fill balloons with sand and create a fun game where you toss the balloons into buckets.

Get wired for play: According to the survey, 78 percent of parents said their children spend more than 30 minutes on an average day watching television and 71 percent said their children spend that time on a computer, smartphone or other device. Instead of letting technology get in the way, incorporate play into their time with technology. Have your child play an active video game that encourages players to move around their environment or try playing a game between TV commercials, such as tag or hide and seek. It can also help to set a limit for how long your child can use the computer or watch TV per day.

Be your kid’s playmate: According to the survey, 53 percent of parents said having no playmates was a barrier to their child’s play. No one likes to play alone, so when siblings and friends aren’t available, join in on the fun and create games you and your child can play together. Whether it’s playing Marco Polo or throwing a baseball back and forth, you can find ways to spend quality time with your kids and have fun while doing it.

Learn more about the importance of play and get tips and advice for how to make active play a daily priority at LetsPlay.com.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

SOURCE:
Dr. Pepper Snapple

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